Pregame Preview: Padres seek fifth straight win Saturday

The Padres bid for a fifth straight win Saturday night when they take on the Colorado Rockies in the sixth game of a seven-game homestand.

The pitching match-up will feature two pitchers trying to rebuild their careers – Kip Wells of the Padres and Jeff Francis of the Rockies.

Wells hadn’t pitched in the major leagues since the 2009 season when he made his Padres debut on June 26. Francis was pitching for Cincinnati’s Triple-A team when he gained the right to rejoin the Rockies on June 9.

Wells is 1-3 with a 2.82 earned run average in four starts for the Padres. Francis is 2-2 with a 4.76 ERA in eight starts for the Rockies.

The best previous outings for each pitcher this season came against the team they will be facing this evening at Petco Park (5:35 p.m.; TV: Fox Sports San Diego; Radio: 1090-AM).

Wells picked up his only win as a Padre on July 1 at Coors Field in Colorado, shutting the Rockies out on six hits and two walks over seven innings. On June 29, Francis blanked the Padres over six innings at Coors Field on three hits and a walk.

The Padres have packed their lineup with right-handed hitters against the left-handed Francis. Chris Denorfia will start in center with Jesus Guzman in right and Carlos Quentin in left. First baseman Yonder Alonso is the lone left-handed hitter in the lineup.

Center fielder Cameron Maybin will miss a fourth straight start with a sore wrist, leaving the Padres with an all-left-handed bench of INF-OF Alexi Amarista, OFs Will Venable and Mark Kotsay and catcher John Baker.

Injured Padres right-handed starter Tim Stauffer will begin throwing from the mound Monday in San Francisco and could appear in a rehab assignment for the Arizona Rookie League Padres by the end of next week.

Francis, 31, rejoined the Rockies in June after opting out of a minor league with Cincinnati. He ranks third on the Rockies all-time wins list with 57. Francis has not won at Petco Park since Sept. 23, 2007. It was Francis in 2004 who forced the Padres to spend more than $1 million modifying and widening the batter’s eye in center. His delivery took his hand outside the background. Francis is 1-0 against the Padres this season, throwing six shutout innings.